{"id":24405,"date":"2018-09-05T16:54:54","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T16:54:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/05\/adam-smith-expects-future-defense-budgets-to-dip-below-716-billion\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:51:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:51:12","slug":"adam-smith-expects-future-defense-budgets-to-dip-below-716-billion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/budget\/2018\/09\/05\/adam-smith-expects-future-defense-budgets-to-dip-below-716-billion\/","title":{"rendered":"Adam Smith expects future defense budgets to dip below $716 billion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 When Congress delivered a $716 billion defense budget to the Pentagon, defense leaders made it clear it was a welcome boost \u2014 but some questioned if the number would be enough to do everything the department foresees as necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee \u2014 who is poised to take over the HASC should November elections go blue \u2014 is warning that tightened belts are on the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked specifically if $716 billion is the right number for defense and whether future budgets will stay at that level, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash, said flatly: \u201cNo and no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the number\u2019s too high, and its certainly not going to be there in the future,\u201d Smith said at the second annual Defense News Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The congressman argued that the debt and deficit situation facing the country requires balancing out how the government is spending, particularly after the Trump administration\u2019s tax cuts made it \u201ceven more difficult to get our budget under control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But drawing down the defense budget has to be part of a broader look at U.S. strategy, something that Smith said requires a realistic look at America\u2019s military strategy. He pointed to the idea that 355 ships are vital for the Navy as an example of flawed logic, because \u201ccapability matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t